Stuart Bell Confirmed As University Of Florida’s 14th President

He started today with "interim" in front of his title. But after a several weeks of accusations and political tension, former University of Alabama president Dr. Stuart Bell is now the 14th President of the University of Florida. The Florida Board of Governors, which has the final say in nominations made by the school's Board of Trustees voted 16-1 to confirm Bell.

The sticking points in Bell's nomination included the secrecy behind his selection as the only nominee by the trustees, differing views on governance between the trustees and board and accusations by conservatives such as Florida U.S. Senator Rick Scott that Bell would bring Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) and 'woke' policies back to the Gainesville campus after the Florida Legislature had banned it.

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Bell addressed the DEI issue during today's confirmation hearing at the University of South Florida. “I do want to address one issue that I know there have been some questions about, and that’s about DEI, so I want to be very clear, and maybe we can set this aside,” Bell told the board. “I’m not coming to Florida to bring DEI or woke back to the State of Florida.”

The lone vote against Bell came from board member Aubrey Edge who had alleged Bell supported DEI during his tenure in Tuscaloosa and he pointed to declining national academic standards during Bell’s presidency at The Capstone.

Bell was grilled on a variety of topics during his confirmation hearing today. He ended the questioning with a promise to the board. “I will serve with integrity, I will serve with humility, I will serve with accountability to this group and to my board of trustees. I am truly excited to be here,” Bell vowed.

Bell was not the first candidate for the post, the Trustees’ initial pick, Dr. Santa Ono was rejected by the Board of Governors last year due to concerns over DEI and COVID policies during his tenure at the University of Michigan.

Bell's base salary is $2 million annually with performance and retention bonuses bumping it to $2.4 million.